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The fiscal cliff “deal” made gigantic money for big businesses and their wealthy lobbyists. According to The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Examiner, the White House directed Senator Harry Reid to give tax breaks to a slew big businesses. When Senate Republicans resisted – sort of, the White House insisted on legislation already passed in the Senate Finance Committee and controlled by Democrat Max Baucus of Montana. Baucus' legislation had a least 50 special tax gifts for big campaign donors. Thus, in the frenetic last minutes of rushing the cliff “deal” to the Senate, Baucus' bill was inserted. Within two days, the “DC” corruption between big special-interest predators and complicit politicians passed the Senate and the House and was signed by the President!

Here is a partial list of the complicit businesses and their elected patrons, as paraphrased from the WSJ:

New Mexico's Jeff Bingaman - a tax credit for companies operating in American Samoa ($62 million), including a StarKist factory.

Chris Dodd, the former Senator of Connecticut and lobbyist for Hollywood's movie studios. "The bill extends for two years, through 2013, the provision that allows film and television producers to expense the first $15 million of production costs incurred in the United States ($20 million if the costs are incurred in economically depressed areas in the United States)."

Of course President Obama's green energy gets special tax breaks.

The wind production tax credit - GOP Senators John Thune (South Dakota) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa). The big winner is General Electric and Siemens —which benefit indirectly by making wind turbine gear. This credit now 20 years old and total cost is $12 billion.

Cellulosic biofuels... had their tax credit continued, and the definition of what qualifies was expanded to include producers of "algae-based fuel" ($59 million.)

The WSJ lists other industries and special-interest groups:

Distillers - a $222 million rum tax rebate.

Businesses located on Indian reservations will receive $222 million in accelerated depreciation.

And there are breaks for railroads, "New York Liberty Zone" bonds and so much more.

Baucus, Obama and many more politicians are complicit partners with big business. Plus, there are many former Senators, Members of Congress and staffers also leveraging their associations with elected members to extract special favors for big business. Tim Carney of The Washington Examinerexplains:

Former Sens. John Breaux, D-La., and Trent Lott, R-Miss., a pair of rainmaker lobbyists, pleaded for extensions on behalf of a powerful lineup of clients.

General Electric and Citigroup, for instance, hired Breaux and Lott to extend a tax provision that allows multinational corporations to defer U.S. taxes by moving profits into offshore financial subsidiaries. This provision -- known as the "active financing exception" -- is the main tool GE uses to avoid nearly all U.S. corporate income tax.

Liquor giant Diageo also retained Breaux and Lott to win extensions on two provisions benefiting rum-making in Puerto Rico.

Immorally, big business contributes big money to political campaigns – Democrats and Republicans alike. In return, big business get enormous tax breaks. The WSJ explains the good investment in former Senator Dodd by the film industry:

Investing a couple million in Mr. Dodd in return for $430 million in tax breaks sure beats trying to make better movies.

Beyond being immoral, these corrupt and complicit relationships prevent responsible and prudent long-term public policy. For over a year, the entire fiscal-cliff imbroglio focused politicians and special-interest predators on their immediate rewards and victories. Good and prudent long term policy be damned – like reforming the debt ridden entitlements. Tragically, this corruption will continue because our politicians and special-interest donors both profit. Only when We the People expose and protest against this corruption will it be stopped.

Democracy and Power 106: A Politician Receives No Financial Gain for Good Policy or Punishment for Bad PolicyIt is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong. —Thomas SowellIn a democracy, a politician has no ownership-interest in the state. There is no financial gain for wise policy decisions; nor is there a financial loss for bad decisions. A politician’s rewards are immediate – power, prestige, and perquisites.

Democracy and Power 112: Fidelity to LeadershipTo be elected, a politician must please their constituents. However, to be a powerful legislative force, a politician must be an obedient member of a party – Democrat or Republican. Since most constituents are busy making a living, raising families and focused on immediate community concerns, loyalty to the party most often prevails.

Two well-known Washington insiders -- Erskine Bowles, a former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, and Alan Simpson, a retired Republican Senator -- have issued a press release updating their famous deficit-reduction plan.

One of the most wearisome tactics from this Most Wearisome Adminstration Ever is its hyper-employment (I know-it's weird seeing "employment" in any context implying an increase in the Age of Obama) of the euphemism "revenues" in an attempt to dupe the public into paying more taxes.

As the first paychecks of 2013 were deposited into accounts earlier this month, some workers undoubtedly wondered why their take-home pay seemed lighter than in December. The reason was simple: the fiscal cliff deal is now beginning to rear its ugly head in the form of a payroll tax increase. Oddly, no one seemed more surprised than Obama supporters themselves. “What happened?” rang out among liberal blogs and message boards.

Dear FreedomWorks member,As one of our millions of FreedomWorks members nationwide, I urge you to contact your U.S. Representative and urge him or her to vote NO on H.R. 325, a bill which would lift the U.S. debt limit without a dollar cap for four months (until May 19, 2013) with no accompanying spending reforms or reductions.

Washington, DC- FreedomWorks will be activating its membership of over 2 million fiscal conservatives to contact their Representatives and demand a vote “NO” on H.R. 325, the debt ceiling legislation proposed by Republican House leadership that would raise the debt ceiling clean with no long-term budget solutions.

Update on the Debt Ceiling fight:
House Republicans appear to be listening to the grassroots. Today GOP leaders announced they will not pass any bill to extend the national debt ceiling until the Senate does its job and passes a budget.

As with most events in life, timing was everything. Fitch Ratings, Ltd. released a statement Tuesday announcing its intention to lower the U.S. credit rating unless the Administration and Congress can incorporate responsible fiscal policy (i.e., a balanced budget) into the upcoming debt ceiling debate. The press release took on special meaning in light of the presidential press conference less than 24 hours before, during which Obama pledged to ignore any deals from Congress matching the debt-ceiling increase with equal spending cuts.